Here's What We Know About The Man Everyone Thinks Will Soon Control China's Economy

His links with the Communist Youth League (and through that, Wen and Hu) helped Li become a key member of the 'tuanpai' camp, one of two camps that have been dominating the Chinese leadership in recent years, according to a report John Dotson at the U.S.-China Economic and Security Review Commission (USCC).

Members of the 'tuanpai' camp tend to push for policies that would develop the inland part of the country and prevent social instability, in contrast to the 'princelings' i.e. the children of high-powered revolutionary era officials and the 'Shanghai clique', who tend to favor economic growth.

'Bad Luck'

Li doesn't however have a spotless record — in fact, he's got something of a reputation for "bad luck".

He earned the moniker "Three Fires Li" after a series of major fires in Henan province, and in his next job in Liaoning Province a mine collapsed an killed over 200 miners.

But the biggest blemish on his career is the Henan AIDS crisis.

In the 1990s a state sponsored blood exchange program in the Henan province caused a massive AIDS outbreak when peasants were offered money to donate their blood, have the plasma removed, and finally have their blood pooled and then re-injected (sans plasma) into the donors. The outbreak is said to have affected as many as 1 million people in Henan.

While the state sponsored blood plasma fiasco took place during his predecessors term, Li was left to deal with the fallout, and he continued carrying out policies aimed at covering up the scandal and limiting media coverage of the incident. For a reformist like Li, his part in covering-up the Henan AIDS crisis will definitely haunt his time as premiere.

The economy

But Li's experience in economic and administrative work is expected to help at a time when China's economy is slowing down. While declining GDP growth isn't as worrisome to the Communist Party as unemployment and inflation Li still has a significant task ahead of him.

Analyst's suspect that China's third-quarter growth may have been weaker than official data indicate, and Bloomberg reports, that Li himself was quoted in 2007 by Wikileak's as saying that GDP numbers are made up and more for guidance, and that he thought electricity consumption, rail cargo and loans were more reliable economic indicators.

Wen Jiabao's second chance?

It's tempting to see Li as Wen Jiabao's protege — a man from a similar background with reports of a similar temperament entering the same office.

One big problem here is that Wen was seen by many as a pragmatic reformer who was unable to tame the different factions in the Chinese leadership. Li, known for his gentle temper and "easy smile" may struggle to build bridges amongst a leadership that seems to be growing more fractured.